CJ Callahan was stuck at his childhood home in Arkansas, grounded by a classic Midwest Christmas snowstorm. He should have been flying to Chicago in time for his shift at a premier bar and kitchen on the North Side. Desperate, he bought a train ticket — if Amtrak didn't have any snow delays, a train ride to Union Station would be about 13 hours. But no matter what, he couldn't get to work on time.
His boss called and immediately chewed him out.
"He yelled at me for the weather," Callahan says. "He's like, 'Now, I gotta cover your ass!'"
That night, Callahan learned how not to be a chef.
Three decades later, Callahan is now the executive chef for Dos Gordos, a taco and tequila destination opened by One Tree Hard Cider in the Wandermere neighborhood of far north Spokane. It's a space infused with Callahan's convictions — a well-paid staff who are treated like family, creative comfort food that aims solely at "deliciousness," and unstoppable, all-encompassing, almost compulsive care.
After Callahan moved from Chicago to Spokane, he became the executive chef at Hogwash Whiskey Den in 2018, while also helping upstairs at Inland Pacific Kitchen. After taking a job with One Tree in 2022, the owners asked him to create a new menu around tacos and burritos.
Dos Gordos opened in late April. It's easy to miss, especially if you're not looking for creative dining options in a brick stripmall across from Fred Meyer. Once you're inside, festive colors, cute glassware and the slogan "Gimme Dos!" painted across the wall give the restaurant a fast-casual, family-friendly atmosphere.
But the first clue that you're in a special place is the bar. Eighty-six tequilas are displayed behind the counter, many on the top shelf. Thirty-three mezcals confirm that someone is obsessed with quality and quantity. The menu seems approachable — most people recognize words like salsa, guacamole, slaw, and probably even crema, chimichurri, and pico de gallo. But when you see the food, and taste the food, it's clear that you haven't had anything like this before.
"You're getting a Southern gentleman with classic French techniques cooking Mexican food," Callahan says. The mustachioed, broad-handed, big-hearted chef is a quarter Mexican and jokes that his food is only as Mexican as he is.
One of the most popular tacos ($6.50 each) at Dos Gordos is fried chicken, a fabulously confused combo of crispy chicken, hot honey and pickled chili in a tortilla. The chorizo con papas taco throws Mexican sausage and French fried potatoes together, which Callahan accidentally realized reveals his Mexican-Irish roots. He also brings his unique approach to pork and beef tacos, plus a mushroom option for vegetarians. Chips and salsa ($5), guacamole shrimp cocktail ($15), elotes ($9), and wings ($16) are all available as appetizers. There also are burritos ($14-$20), a giant quesadilla ($8) and Churro-nuts ($6), aka donut balls deep-fried in duck fat.
At Dos Gordos, kids can get their tacos served in an orange dinosaur toy. But it's also the place where Callahan is dreaming up a five-course dinner paired with craft beer from YaYa Brewery Co.
With all his fine dining experience, Callahan is obsessed with excellence and creativity. But no matter what he makes, he's haunted by an early mentor at — of all places — an Arkansas Holiday Inn buffet.
"He taught me about the element of deliciousness," Callahan says. "If you eat it, and you don't want a second bite, you don't serve it. If you eat it and you keep going back, you know you got a good thing going."
The only thing Callahan cares more about than food is people.
"I'm not a religious person," Callahan says. "But I was raised religious, and I think the Bible does have some pretty good lines in it. I mean, for the most part, it's garbage. But there was one thing that sticks with me. [Jesus] says, 'However you treat the least of these is how you treat me.'"
On his day off, Callahan is marinating steak to throw a last-minute birthday party for an employee and friend. When he sits down to write next week's staff schedule, he'll organize it around picking up kids from school and going to weddings and honoring other personal requests.
To Callahan, being an executive chef means doing the extra, dirty jobs that no one else wants to do — fixing toilets, covering shifts, washing dishes when everyone else goes home. It means being the person his staff can trust, not fear.
"Work is a way to get away from this bullshit life," Callahan says. "Life's not fun for everybody. But work can be an escape, and it can be fun. Food is just a craft and the byproduct. For me, the kitchen is cultivating an environment and an atmosphere where people want to be." ♦
Dos Gordos • 12501 N. Division St., Suite 6 • Open Tue-Wed 4-9 pm; Thu 12-9 pm; Fri-Sat 12-10 pm; Sun 12-7 pm • dosgordostacos.com
